Author(s)

Paluku Bahwere, Hedwig Deconinck, Theresa Banda, Steve Collins

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Wasting has been observed as a common feature of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease since the first reports and its presence increases the risk of death. There is no consensus on how to manage wasting associated with HIV. The goal of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a locally made Chickpea Sesame Based RUTF (CS-RUTF) in treating wasting associated with HIV in developing countries. Chronically sick adults from Mangochi Health District (Malawi) with wasting and confirmed or presumptive clinical diagnosis of HIV were recruited for the study. Subjects received a daily ration of 500 grams of CS-RUTF for 3 to 5 months. Nutrition status changes and mortality were used to assess the effectiveness of the intervention. There were 3 patterns of anthropometric responses continuous weight gain (WG), static weight (SW) and continuation weight loss (WL). The distribution of the 3 patterns is 53.9% (82/154) for the WG pattern, 9.1% (14/154) for the SW pattern and 37.0% (57/154) for the WL pattern. For the WG pattern, the overall median weight gain was 4.6 (2.4 to 7.1) kg. It was 5.7 (3.5 to 7.8) kg for those who completed 3 months of sup-plementation. MUAC and BMI changes followed similar pattern than weight change. Not being on HAART, acute diarrhoea during follow up, episode of reduced appetite during follow up, missing at least one visit were identified as risk factors for intervention failure. Overall, 38.5% (72/187) of study participants died during the intervention. In conclusion, despite that the study confirms the limited impact of food based interventions on mortality among wasted HIV positive individuals, it also suggests that supplementation with CS-RUTF may be an effective intervention for reversing wasting associated with HIV if combined with HAART and specific treatment of severe opportunistic infection causing diarrhoea and reducing appetite.

AIDS, Wasting, Nutrition Therapy, Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food

P. Bahwere, H. Deconinck, T. Banda and S. Collins, "Effective Therapeutic Feeding with Chickpea Sesame Based Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (CS-RUTF) in Wasted Adults with Confirmed or Suspected AIDS," World Journal of AIDS, Vol. 1 No. 4, 2011, pp. 169-181. doi: 10.4236/wja.2011.14025.